CHI 322: Self and Society in Chinese Culture Instructor: Matthew Wells Office: 1035 Patterson Office Tower (POT) Office hours: TBA Email: Matt.Wells@uky.edu (preferred method of contact) Phone: (859) 257-1094 Day/Time: TBD Overview: The idea that Chinese culture values society at the expense of the individual has become cliché, particularly in the West, where Chinese “collectivism” is almost always seen to contrast with Western “individualism.” However, traditional Chinese writers and artists have always admired a person’s ability to remain true to their own nature and convey their individuality to others. For these poets, painters, and philosophers, the self was a category with important philosophical, social, and political meaning that required constant redefinition and affirmation. This course will survey Chinese art and literature from the Warring States period to the modern era by examining the fundamental issue of individuality, the nature of the self, and its relationship—as it is variously defined—to larger social categories such as family and society. This topic will be our window into the rich tradition of Chinese arts and literature. Course readings will include philosophical and religious texts as well as literature, historical writing, and material culture in its various forms (painting, 3-dimensional art, architecture). Course goals and objectives: To survey Chinese art and literature from the Warring States period to the modern era and examine the issues of individuality, the nature of the self, and the relationship between the self and larger social categories such as family and society. Learning Outcomes: After taking this class, students will be able to identify and work with basic discourses about identity, individuality, and self-representation, understand them within the context of Chinese history and culture, and track changes and continuities in these discourses over time. They will be able to synthesize and analyze material related to broad categories such as “self” and “society,” and apply this analysis within different cultural contexts and paradigms. Students will also deepen their understanding of Chinese intellectual, literary, and cultural history and be able to challenge conventional wisdom in this field of study. Course Requirements: Attendance and Participation: All students must show up having finished the reading and prepared to discuss it. Participation is a significant portion of your grade, so thoughtful comments and questions are strongly encouraged. Student Facilitated Discussion: Each student is responsible for the presentation and discussion of one set of assigned readings. Depending on class size, several students may be assigned to the same readings. In such instances, students will facilitate class discussion as a group. Students will prepare a presentation of the material and lead discussion on the assigned date. Simply summarizing the readings will result in a failing grade. Instead, pick one or more of the relevant themes in the set of assigned readings to develop and present to the class. You should also provide a handout for your classmates and the instructor. The presentation should be brief, approximately 10-15 minutes, after which you should lead class discussion. All students are expected to do the readings and participate, regardless of whether or not it is a student’s turn to facilitate discussion. Weekly Reaction Papers: Each week you will turn in a reaction paper of approximately two pages. Your paper should briefly summarize the reading, but largely focus on exploring a salient theme, structural feature, or implication of the reading. Your paper will be graded for style as well as content and will be expected to be free of significant grammatical and spelling errors. Students who require writing help are encouraged to visit the writing lab on the 5th floor of the William T. Young library or make an appointment with me for guidance. Research Paper: The final project for this class will be a 10 page research paper. In your paper, you will be expected to mingle the theoretical secondary reading with the primary documents. An abstract of your paper will be required in advance. Grading Procedure: Grades for this course are not curved and represent a raw percentage score. Final grades will be determined according to the following scale: A= 90-100, B= 80-89, C=70-79, D=60-69, E=59 and below. Reaction Papers: 40% (total) Attendance and Participation: 20% Discussion Facilitation: 20% Final paper: 20% Mid-term evaluation: Students will be provided with a Midterm Evaluation of course performance based on criteria in the syllabus up to that date. Final examination information: The course does not have a final exam. Class Policies: Assignments submitted late without prior approval will not be graded. If you have or believe you have a physical, learning, or psychological disability that may impair your ability to complete this course successfully, you are encouraged to contact the Disability Resource Center, 257-2754, room 2 Alumni Gym, or email jkarnes@uky.edu. While accidents occasionally happen, "the computer ate my homework" is not a valid excuse for late assignments. Be sure to back up your work on a thumb drive or local account. Printing is available at different locations on campus; emailed assignments will not be graded. Cell phones can be disruptive and rude. Please turn them off before class begins; if your phone goes off you will be asked to leave the class. Do not text in my class. If you text, you will be asked to leave the class. Laptops are not allowed except with a letter from the Disability Resource Center. Excused absences: An absence may only be excused due to serious illness, the passing of a family member, or with the consent of the instructor. Make-up opportunities: Students missing coursework due to an excused absence will be given an opportunity to make up the assignment or an equivalent assignment. Verification of absences: Students missing work due to an excused absence bear the responsibility of informing the instructor about their excused absence within one week following the period of the excused absence (except where prior notification is required)‚ and of making up the missed work. Classroom behavior: The university, college and department has a commitment to respect the dignity of all and to value differences among members of our academic community. There exists the role of discussion and debate in academic discovery and the right of all to respectfully disagree from time-to-time. Students clearly have the right to take reasoned exception and to voice opinions contrary to those offered by the instructor and/or other students (S.R. 6.1.2). Equally, a faculty member has the right -- and the responsibility -- to ensure that all academic discourse occurs in a context characterized by respect and civility. Obviously, the accepted level of civility would not include attacks of a personal nature or statements denigrating another on the basis of race, sex, religion, sexual orientation, age, national/regional origin or other such irrelevant factors. Academic integrity, cheating, and plagiarism: Plagiarism and cheating are very serious in a university setting. Plagiarism may be defined as the submission of the work of others for academic credit without indicating the source. Cheating may be defined as misrepresenting the work of others as one's own. Students caught cheating on assignments or plagiarizing material for papers may face disciplinary action according to University Senate Rules (6.3.1 & 6.3.2), available at the following website: http://www.uky.edu/USC/New/rules_regulations/index.htm. Please talk to me or consult the university’s website at: http://www.uky.edu/Ombud/Plagiarism.pdf if you have any questions about this important issue. Course Material: Underlined readings are available on e-reserve on Blackboard or in the Course Packet (CP). Note that you are responsible for ALL of the reading for a given week. Required Texts Burton Watson, Chuang-Tzu, Basic Writings Donald Munro, Individualism and Holism: Studies in Confucian and Taoist Values Maxine Hong Kingston, The Woman Warrior Course packet and online reserve Library Reserve Kim-chong Chong, The Moral Circle and the Self (MC) Class Schedule 1. Course overview Read: Munro, “Introduction”; Julian Jaynes, “Consciousness”; Charles Taylor, “The Self in Moral Space”; Powers, “The Politics of Personhood” 2. Definitions and Controlling Concepts Read: Analects of Confucius, excerpts; Munro, “Individual and Group in Confucianism,” “Punishment and Dignity”; Yuet Keung Lo, “Finding the Self in the Analects”(MC); 3. Early Confucian Ideas of the Self Read: Xunzi, excerpts; Mencius, excerpts; Munro, “On the Matter of the Mind”; Karyn Lai, “Confucian Moral Cultivation: Some Parallels with Musical Training”(MC) 4. Good or Evil? A Debate on Human Nature Read: Watson, Zhuangzi (Chuang-Tzu), entire; Munro, “Self and Whole in Chuang-Tzu” 5. Early Daoist Concepts of the Individual Read: Yang Xiong “Self Cultivation”; Wang Chong “Forming Character,” “Original Nature”; Grace Fong, “Gender and Subjectivity in the Han Fu”; Cao Pi on literary theory; Ban Zhao, “Admonitions for Women” 6. Humanity in Han Philosophy Read: Vimalakirti, excerpts; Kalupahana, “The Human Personality”; Payne, Individuation and Awakening” 7. Buddha Nature Read: Liu Shao, The Study of Human Abilities, excerpts (CP); Liu Yiqing, “Worthy Beauties”, “Grading Excellence” 8. Evaluating Individual Worth Read: Liu Yiqing “The Free and Unrestrained”; Xi Kang “Dispelling Self-Interest”; Munro, “Individualist Expressions”, “Individualism and the Neo-Taoist Movement” 9. Naturalism and Human Nature Read: Read: Sima Qian “Letter to Ren An”; Cao Pi’s autobiography; Xi Kang’s “Letter to Shan Tao”; Ge Hong’s autobiography; Ban Zhao, “Authorial Postface”; Durrant, “The Autobiographical Writing of Sima Qian” 10. In Their Own Words: Letters and Autobiographies Read: Ge Hong, Traditions of Divine Transcendents, excerpts; Liu Yiqing, “Reclusion and Disengagement”; Munro, “The Hidden Hero”; Campany, “Adepts and Their Communities” 11. The Transcendent Self: Hermits and Immortals Read: Selections of Chinese Poetry; Kang-I Sun Chang, “The Unmasking of Tao Qian”; Stephen Owen, “The Self’s Perfect Mirror” 12. Poetry, individual “Will”, and individual identity Read: Munro, “Subjectivity in Liu Tsung-chou”, “The Family Network”, “NeoConfucian Individualism” 13. Song Neo-Confucianism Read: Lu Xun “Preface to A Call to Arms,” “Kong Yiji”; Ding Ling “Miss Sophia’s Diary”; Munro, “Romantic Individualism in Modern Chinese Literature” 14. May 4th Writers and New Questions of Self Identity Read: Maxine Hong Kingston The Woman Warrior; 15. Being “Chinese” Beyond China Read: The RZA, The Wu-Tang Manual, excerpts 16. Concluding discussion and paper topic discussion RESEARCH PAPER SHALL BE DUE NO LATER THAN THE SCHEDULED TIME FOR THE FINAL EXAM!!!